Gotta give the Tigers credit. For as much as I point out their faults, I should at least acknowledge when they come correct. They took 3 of 4 against the Orioles, and then, in a crucial series against rival Minnesota, they won 2 of 3. Surprisingly, the game they lost was with Verlander on the mound.
On exhibit, for all to see, was the Tigers' glaring weaknesses - shaky bullpen, questionable starting pitchers, confounding inability to sacrifice a run home from 3rd. Yet, they somehow won 5 of 7 and remain in 1st place - 3 games clear of Chicago, who lost 2 of 3 to the Tribe. Those pesky Indians beat up the Tigers, then they beat up Minnesota and now the White Sox. Are they on the comeback trail? The Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez trades rejuvenated that squad.
A few observations...
The big news of course was Alex Avila. The Lake Erie call-up notched 5 RBIs in 2 games. Avila's clutch hitting illustrated just how much good 'ol Laird struggled at the plate. The hope is that Avila's arrival will heat up Laird's bat too. It certainly worked yesterday, as Laird got two hits - his first two-hit game since July 8th (24 games ago!).
Washburn struggled again. Poor early returns on the Washburn trade. The pitcher who used to have the 3rd best ERA in the AL looks more like... gulp... Nate Robertson. Lucky for Washburn, his next start is against KC. Since joining Detroit, Washburn's ERA jumped from 2.6 to 3.1.
After an interminable slump, Polanco is back to the crafty slap-hitter of years past. He's batting a cool .400 in August (a ten game hitting streak), with some uber-clutch hits over the weekend. He's also the first regular starter to crack the .270 mark in a month.
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